Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Acquires 421,731 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2,122.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 441,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 421,731 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group accounts for about 0.7% of Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $37,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $837,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Balentine LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 3,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $828,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mcdonald Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 5,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WEC. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other WEC Energy Group news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC traded up $0.49 during trading on Thursday, hitting $83.08. 1,993,142 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,143,110. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $26.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $96.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $80.50 and its 200 day moving average is $81.43.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.15%.

About WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments.